Snazzy Snippets #4

5:04 PM

Oh my goodness, it's May! That means there is less than a month left of the school year. It also means I have less than two months to reach 100,000 words and finish my current WIP Cursed. Click here if you'd like to read more about Cursed. Currently, it's sitting at 70,000 words. The end of the school year is always super busy, so I'm going to have to buckle down in order to reach my goal at the end of June. Here is another Snazzy Snippet so you can get a sneak peak of Cursed.

What: It’s an opportunity for writers! Every two months, Alyssa at The Devil Orders Takeout and Emily at The Loony Literate post a prompt or question for you to share a snippet of less than 500 words. It’s designed to let you have fun, analyse your work on a smaller level, or just write something to join in. Here are this month's prompts.

A snippet that was difficult to write (define 'difficult' as you like!)or

A snippet you had a lot of fun writingor

A snippet you plan to delete/significantly revise

A snippet that was difficult to write

“Oh
jeez, now I feel pressure. All right, statement number one: I once cast a curse
on a drunk man who kissed me which turned him into a frog. Statement number
two: I once transformed myself into a dragon to avoid having to socialize with
other people at a party.”

“Oh my
goodness both of those statements sound highly plausible and probable. Are you sure
you’ve never played this game before?” Marina asked.

“This
is the first time I’ve played it.”

“Hmm,
both statements have to do with transformative magic so that means I have to
decide whether I think you’re more likely to use your magic on someone else or
yourself.”

“I’m
not going to give you any hints,” Cyndra warned.

“Oh, I
don’t need any hints, don’t worry. I think I have you figured out.”

“Okay, go ahead and guess. Which one is the lie,
statement one or statement two?”

“Statement one,” Marina said.

“Statement two,” Phillip called from the other side of
the kitchen.

Cyndra spun around to stare at Phillip, her cheeks
flushing bright red. “What? You were listening?”

“Turn back around,” he said, jumping in front of the fire
to hide whatever he was cooking. “You never said I couldn’t listen.”

“I didn’t know you were listening,” Cyndra said as she
turned her back to him.

“Well, I was. So, which one of us got it right?”

Cyndra didn’t feel much like revealing the answer. She
felt embarrassed that Phillip had been listening in to their childish game.

“It was me, wasn’t it?” Marina asked. “I can so see you
turning into a dragon so you wouldn’t have to talk to people. Cyndra, the
anti-social dragon.”

“Phillip got it right,” Cyndra admitted begrudgingly. “I
have never turned myself into a dragon. Though I am certainly tempted to do so
now.”

“So, that means you really did curse a man to be a frog
for the rest of his life?” Marina asked, blinking with surprise.

“He was drunk and he kissed me without permission,”
Cyndra said defensively. “The slimy git deserved it. Besides, I didn’t curse
him to remain a frog forever. It wore off after a week.”

This was difficult to write because all I wrote in my outline for this scene was "characters bond." I struggled with coming up with a way for my characters to do this and basically settled on having them play two truths and a lie. That might change in later drafts.

A snippet I had a lot of fun writing

At his words, Cyndra’s magic
rose to the surface, ready to defend herself. “Careful, Felix. I can still
change you back. You thought nine days as a raven was bad? How about an entire
year with feathers?”

Felix’s nostrils flared. Before Cyndra could react, he
had his hand around her throat. “Go ahead. Try it,” he taunted, his fingers
squeezing around her neck.

This is such a tension filled hot spot. I enjoy pitting my characters against each other to see how they respond.

A snippet I plan to delete/significantly revise

"Are you
one of the barmaids from The Fox and the Bear?”

“No, I
don’t serve beer,” Cyndra said with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I don’t mean to
be rude, but I’m in a real rush. If I could please just rent two horses-”

“I’ve
got it!” the hostler cried out, snapping her fingers. “I know where I know you
from. You create curses for a living. I bought a curse from you two years ago.”

About me

Welcome to my blog!

I'm Leah - I'm a teacher, writer, and hot chocolate lover living in the US. I'm passionate about reading, writing, and traveling. This blog is a place where I want to share my love of the written word with all of you!